#Dungeon23 Megadungeon Challenge

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by ericthered

. . . but there is a portal effect that connects the left wall to the right, the ceiling to the floor, and the forward wall to the back. Destroying or removing a block from one wall removes it from the other wall, letting the players see through the portal (often seeing themselves). The structure heals itself at a rate of 1 HP every 10 minute in each damaged location.

This is really freaky and cool. It's a great way to get the players to understand the dimensional nature of their predicament.

Riffing on this idea would be a room with other doors besides the entrance: say a door in the north wall and another door in the south wall. Opening one door would open the other door and create a portal from one to the other.

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Damage to the room: Attacking the walls of the room is possible, but there is a portal effect that connects the left wall to the right, the ceiling to the floor, and the forward wall to the back. Destroying or removing a block from one wall removes it from the other wall, letting the players see through the portal (often seeing themselves). The structure heals itself at a rate of 1 HP every 10 minute in each damaged location.

Uh oh, I started thinking . . .

When you look through a whole you made in the wall, you could actually see the back of your head an "infinite" amount of times: kind of like when you're in a bathroom with parallel mirrors.

In other words, the room is actually connected to itself an infinite amount of times.

What then is the implication for the casting of large area effect spells: do they "hit" you multiple times?

. . . There would also be a very lengthy echo to any sounds in the room.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Dalin

This is a really cool idea. I have a few questions... really I'm just thinking aloud.

I'm glad you like it! This idea was actually part of a series of DF monsters with advantages from A to Z that I thought up in december... this the J monster, for "Jumper". The monster in the pool on the ceiling is A (aquatic, ambidextrous). I'll probably stick more of them in.

How many people is "enough?" (I assume it's the GM's call... or whenever the full group enters.)

Pretty much. The full party is certainly the most convenient for the GM. If they dally too much, shutting the door may be called for.

When the portal is closed, am I understanding correctly that it effectively becomes detached from normal reality. It is like a little pocket dimension that needs the mouth to open to return to the mundane dungeon. Right? That might have implications for knowledge or scrying spells.

Yep! Its a little extra-dimensional monster. You are not part of the mundane world anymore.

If someone were left behind when the mouth shut, would they just see a blank wall too?

The creature normally sets up in an existing doorway or archway. So they would see the teeth lining the door collapse into the little tooth-spider thing, along with the room their buddies are in, as the real room the doorway leads to comes into view. The tooth spider is probably going to run away at this point.

If someone does manage to get something into the opening before it shuts, what would be required to pry it open again?

Beating the Mouth's ST 15. That's why it's there!

Originally Posted by Tom H.

This is really freaky and cool. It's a great way to get the players to understand the dimensional nature of their predicament.

Riffing on this idea would be a room with other doors besides the entrance: say a door in the north wall and another door in the south wall. Opening one door would open the other door and create a portal from one to the other.

Thanks. The door idea is kind of fun. Really, you can do a lot with this base idea. I've though of having multiple mouths, and having some way for them to dump you in different places. Maybe blood takes you to a tooth spider that hangs out on level 4, but treasure takes you to the one on level 1... but this is a one-day room, so I'm happy with the base form.

Originally Posted by Tom H.

Uh oh, I started thinking . . .

When you look through a whole you made in the wall, you could actually see the back of your head an "infinite" amount of times: kind of like when you're in a bathroom with parallel mirrors.

In other words, the room is actually connected to itself an infinite amount of times.

What then is the implication for the casting of large area effect spells: do they "hit" you multiple times?

. . . There would also be a very lengthy echo to any sounds in the room.

Roll 1d6 SAN!

I think most area effect spells are stopped by walls? I'm not sure. You could set up some infinite distance tricks, yes. The one I've got my eye on is the infinite hole, as you drop from the floor to the ceiling infinite times.

Of course, none of this happens unless someone makes the hole in the first place.

I'm glad people seem to be grasping the setup. I usually get into trouble when I try to explain weird dimensional ideas.

[ericthered]

Feb 1 etr

Description: 5 yards by 10 yards and 10 feet tall. A series of fountains line the walls, each dumping into a small pool five feet across. The water from each fountain comes from a sculpted animal head: Wolf, Hare, Bear on the left, and Boar, Rat, Stag on the right. The bottoms of the pools softly glow.

At the end of the room is a sculpted human skull with a carved hole for pouring water into via the mouth. Under it is a dias with a receptacle.

Fountain Effects:

Wolf: objects and creatures immersed in this pool are effected by a levitation spell that gently raises them at a rate of 1 foot/sec for 1 hour. Pulling yourself down requires winning a quick contest of ST vs 8.
Hare: Each turn of contact deals 1 point of toxic damage to living creatures (unless sealed). The first time per day an undead touches it, it heals 3d6 points of damage.
Bear:When removed from its fountain, the water from wolf turns into fire, doing 1 point of damage per turn for something like a hand, or 1d6-1 for full immersion. The fire remains until doused.
Boar: The first time per day a living creature touches it, it heals 3d6 points of damage. Each turn of contact deals 1 point of toxic damage to undead.
Rat: No effect
Stag: As Bear

All effects stop working if the water is removed from the room (one way to put out the fire from wolf).

The Skeleton Mouth: If water from Rat is poured in, a key drops into the receptacle. If water from Bear or Stag is poured in, a fire elemental is summoned and pours from the mouth of the skeleton and attacks! the fire elemental can be summoned twice per day, one for each of bear or stag. If water from any other fountain is poured in (or from a source that isn't a fountain), the lights will go out for a second, and a deep booming voice will say "UNACCEPTABLE"

Monsters: the Fire Elementals that can be summoned

Lighting: -1 vision from the glow in the bottom of the pools

[ericthered]

Feb 2 etr

Description: A two yard by two yard room. It has two tables in it, each with a small chest open on each of them. At the back of the room is a six foot by 3 foot mirror.

Entrance: The only way in or out is three square tunnels is three passages 1 foot square and five yards long. Fitting through them requires an escape roll at -8. multiply SM by -4 as an additional modifier. So a Gnome rolls escape at -4 instead of -8.

A set of heavy porticluss occur 3 yards into the tunnels (DR12 HP23), and a set of magial runes occur 4 yards into the tunnel. Spotting either requires a traps roll at +3.

Treasure: one chest holds 235 silver coins, worth $4,700. The other chest is a cornucopia enchantment for an iron key. The Mirror is worth $2,500, weighs 15 lbs ... and will be difficult to get back.

The Trap: If any of the coins from the treasure chest are taken past the runs, the porticluss will snap shut and stay shut for 48 hours.

[ericthered]

Feb 3 etr

Description: A 20 yard by 20 yard room, five feet below the level of the main hall, filled with thick deep sand (bad footing, including +1 Movement point to do anything). The sand is 20 yards deep.

Monster: A Sand Wyrm. Use the stats for the Ice Wyrm, with the following adjustments:

• remove slippery, cold resistance, and Temperature Tolerance, Detect, and DR vs Cold
• Change the name of the breath to "Sand Blast", and change the effect from paralyzed to blinded.
• Add vibration sense (air). This works from beneath the sand.
• Change the specialty of the terrain adaptation to (Sand)
• Add Tunneling 4 (only for sand)
• Ice generating organs cannot be harvested, but Mana organs for earth and air can be harvested for $4,000 each

The Wyrm will start burried two yards under the sand. A naturalist, survival (desert), or tracking roll will reveal that there is a creature lurking here, as will a danger sense roll.

Treasure: the natural bounty of the wyrm (mana organs and teeth).

Exits: This room has four entrances, each in the center of the room: dramatic archways with stairs leading five feet down to the surface of the sand.

[ericthered]

Feb 6 etr

Description: A 6 yard by 10 yard oval chamber with an underground water channel taking up half of it. It appears to be a natural rock cavity.

Occupants: Nine Metal Balls with arms, legs, and little mechanical eyes. The small gadgets are intelligent, and will talk incessantly to each other. The refer to themselves as the "Frooglings", and talk often of the maker and creator, the ingenious Dylan Ferlak. They are desperate to reach him and save him from the evil wizard Polriket. He's a Dwarven Artificer who is really good with machines, or so they say. They are afraid of the water, saying that was "Diver's Job". Each has a name and a small difference from the others:

• Hoover: Has a small propeller on his head, and the flying trait
• Shooter: shoots small rocks from a hole in its chest. Can attack every other round, skill 14, 1d crushing damage, range 5/10
• Hammer: Carries a hammer almost as big as he is: Skill 14, 1d+2 crushing
• Walls: Has picks instead of hands, and can scale rock walls at a rate of 1/yard.
• Tumble: Takes no damage from being thrown or dropped
• Speedy: has wheels on its feet and enhanced move 2.
• Torch: Has a jet fire attack, skill 14, 1d burning damage, range 3/6, and an additional DR 5 vs. Fire.
• Glow: Glows with a brightness equivalent to torchlight, and has +3 will. Acts as the leader.
• Diver: Not present, but he apparently could swim and they all talk about how they lost him in the channel.

If attacked, they will defend themselves as best they can. They can be convinced to help with the delve, if they are convinced it will help them find Dylan! they will help with a single room in exchange for being let out of the cave.

ST 5      HP 5         Speed 7
DX 12    Will 9        Move 3
IQ 9      Per 12        
HT 12    FP NA        SM -5

Dodge 10    Parry NA    DR 8

Kick(12): 1d-2 cr, Close reach

Traits: Nocturnal (Mana-based)*, Doesn't Eat or Drink, Doesn't Sleep, Machine, No Neck, Mechanical Mind**, Gregarious, Hidebound, Sense of Duty (Dylan Ferlak)

*The machines cease moving or being aware in low or no mana regions
** Like Digital Mind, but mechanical

Exits: Two underwater passages where the channel comes in and goes out.

Treasure: Glow can be smashed treated as an permenant continual light item... but his weight: 10 lbs means he's only likely to sell as though he was a quarter of the price of $8,000. It would take an exceptional buyer to want the frooglings, but one could possibly be found.

[ericthered]

Feb 7 etr

Description: A 5 yard by 15 yard natural cavern strewn with boulders two yards high and two yards across.

Vision:-10 (darkness)

Monsters: 3 Demons from Between the stars live here. They travel through the dungeon quite a bit: each one only has a 50% of being present on any given visit, and if the Delvers have killed a monster from between the stars from the wandering monster table*, it won't be here.

Treasure: A broadsword ($600, 3 lbs), six daggers ($20, .25 lbs each), Halberd ($150, 12 lbs), Axe ($50, 4 lbs), Two Medium Shields ($60, 15 lbs), A longbow ($200, 3 lbs), 35 arrows ($70, 3.5 lbs total), two suits of heavy cloth armor ($450, 36 lbs). This totals to $2210 and 129 lbs.

Void-stone, a powerful alchemical ingredient caused by the presence of elder things, has formed in these rocks from the presence of elder thing energies. A Prospecting, Hidden Lore (Elder things), Alchemy, or Thaumatology roll, or Occultism-5 roll can identify it. $2,000 of it is present, weighing 5 lbs.

Exits:Two natural entrances at each end of the cavern

* I've been thinking about a wandering monster table. I'll probably make it along side the map for the level, and make a new table for the next level.

[Dalin]

I'm behind on posting, but I've been doing some work behind the scenes. After my last post with the notebook pages about the Smith's Home, I spent some time figuring out who the smith is (he has a name: Úri Eldskegg) and what goes on in his home. At some point I'll post character sheets for Úri and his dragon companion (also named: Nauðsynlegur Eldur; usually just “Nauð” or “Nauth”).

For now, I'll add a bit about the room with the columns that appeared on the side-view map.

——————————

1/26 — Úri’s Library

Description: This large chamber has a series of 15 large columns in three rows. Each column has stairs spiraling around it from floor to ceiling, about 15 yards up. Most of the columns are covered with carefully crafted dwarven runes telling tales from the region. Not all are carved yet, so there is room to add more text; the chamber can also expand laterally if Úri ever needs more space.
Vision: Permanent Glow spell equivalent to torchlight.
Hearing: Normal
Exits: Staircase up to 1/24 — Úri’s Foyer; large passage to the cavern; doorway to the fireproof study; rough “balcony” opening 10 yards up on the east wall leading to Nauð's tunnels.

Hazards
No Railings: The stairs are three feet wide and each step is fairly broad—safe enough unless you are especially clumsy, afraid of heights, or engaged in unsafe behavior. In the case of a fall, the floor is hard and unforgiving (see Falling, Exploits, p. 67).

Treasure
There is no specific treasure in this room, but there may be information on the pillars that cannot be found elsewhere.

——————————

As I was thinking about what these stairs-around-pillars might look like, I realized that this sort of 3D perspective was well beyond my meager drafting skills. But, I do teach a computer science class to seventh graders where we use Python to design simple 3D objects. It took a few hours to iron out the kinks and get the math right, but I created a simple scale model of what the pillars might be like (without the carvings or lighting or anything like that). This picture shows the columns from a bit of a distance (the camera would be deep in the wall). This one is a bit closer up, looking down one of the aisles.

The squares are scaled to be a yard across. The pillars are 15 yards tall. The space between spirals (the "headspace" if you were climbing the stairs) is about 7 feet, so a bit short for tall humanoids, but spacious for dwarves. I wanted them to lack railings, but I'm not sure how the top of the staircase should end. Going up into the ceiling seems odd, so I stopped them about one rotation from the top. But it does also seem odd that you could step off the top step and fall to the flight below (or worse). So maybe there is a low parapet or bench there.

[ericthered]

Feb 8 etr

Description: A 4 yard by 6 yard room with a pentagram spell carved into the floor (skill 20). A small corridor is just outside the door. A stone podium is just in front of the pentagram, with a place to hold a book. in the corridor are two levers, one painted red, and the other painted blue.

Levers: If the red lever is pulled the room beyond the door is filled with flames doing 2d6 burning damage per second. These persist for 10 minutes or until the lever flipped again. If the blue lever is pulled, the room fills with freezing winds doing 2d6 non-incendiary burning damage per second. If both levers are pulled, the damage still happens, but cancels itself out: there is still usually a bit of residual damage.

Exits: There is one entrance, and it has two doors. The first door is an average wooden door (29 HP, 2 DR) with no lock. The second door is an Heavy Iron door (58 HP 50 DR) that has no handle on the side facing the pentagram

Treasure: A Dwarven Spellbook (Textbook) with the spell "Pentagram" ($400, 12 lbs). A Dwarven Spellbook (Manual) with the spell "Planar Summons" ($1600, 24 lbs). Both books are wizardly. Entries in the book include:

• Flamelord (DF Monsters 1 Page 15)
• Eye of Death (DF Monsters 1 Page 14)
• Demon From Between the Stars (DF Monsters 1 Page 9)
• Demon of Old (DF Monsters 1 page 10)

Selling the book of summons will bring uncomfortable questions in most towns!